Saturday, March 13, 2010

Cultural exchange

Anytime there is a cultural exchange through music, customs, or even slang it is a beautiful thing. One modern day example of cultural exchange is the suburban/urban slang exchange. This trend has been occurring for the past five years. However it would not have been possible if it wasn't for music and other forms of entertainment. My theory is that Kanye along with other hip hop artists who had a unique and alternative Hip Hop sound allowed this slang exchange to occur. Through mass appeal and embracing each others' cultures these artists cultivated a cultural exchange. Hip Hop rock fusions were also pivotal in this suburban/urban slang swap.

The most notable slang exchange emerged during the year 2005. While I started to use the slang after everybody else did, I observed that inner city teenagers and young adults were using the word "hot" and "dude". The word "hot" meaning good looking and the phrase "sucks" having a negative connotation referring to something that is bad. If a person says "you suck at basketball" they mean you are a poor basketball player. Although some of this slang was used by a small portion of the urban population in the past I noticed that since the year 2005 it has been more widespread. Nowadays people in the suburbs are using slang which emanates from the hip hop culture. It is not rare to see a kid from Westchester county use the word "mad" (to signify alot or very). For example I am mad tired ( I am very tired). Or even the word "son" to refer to a person. For example "whats up son". In addition there are terms used by the inner city and outskirts alike such as "chill" (which has different meanings) 1.to calm down 2.to hang out 3.or an adjective describing somebody who is easy going and fun to hang out with "awkward" ( which is heavily used in modern slang and means exactly that "awkward") and "sketchy"( meaning something is weird or doesn't feel right). I call these terms inclusive because they appeal to the urban populations as well as the suburban populations.

Perhaps the media has fostered this cross cultural exchange through music, sitcoms, and channels that are popular among the younger generation but watched by everybody (MTV). I think this phenomenon has a positive impact on today's society. Whenever cultural exchange occurs different populations begin to interact more which in turn procures understanding as well as openmindedness. This is one way that music and the media can increase human connection which will ultimately make the world a better place!